# Good First Home Brewing Setup



## Wallbright (Jan 2, 2011)

Well I am thinking I want to get into home brewing but I don't know where to being looking for a good beginner setup. I am looking to invest less than $100 if possible as I do not know if I will enjoy the hobby or not until I try. Are there any suggestions from you current home brew experts? Thanks! :mrgreen:


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## Quietville (Sep 12, 2011)

I've read some articles that were using very common household items that are cheap and/or easy to get at a local hardware, grocery, etc.

How to Make Beer

That looks like a good place to start. I know that experience is invaluable though, so maybe someone else will have better advice. I know that I am interested also.


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## anonobomber (Aug 29, 2011)

Best place to start out would be a local home brew store. There's a place near me that hooked me up with everything I needed for less than $80 a few years ago. All the stuff I got from them still works great! I'd also recommend reading The Complete Joy of Homebrewing Amazon.com: The Complete Joy of Homebrewing Third Edition (Harperresource Book) (9780060531058): Charles Papazian: Books. It has a ton of information and should you get up and running in no time!


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## kapathy (Nov 20, 2010)

Brewing Starter Kit - Brewing Equipment

im looking to tart as well, but i dont want to bottle, so im looking at soda kegs. I have buddies who brew and they all use turkey fryers so that they can brew outside and not have the whole house smell like brew.... I like the smell my wife....well she does not.


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## keen smoke (Sep 8, 2010)

As I've just started, I can tell you it depends on what you already have and how basic you're willing to start. I think the basic all in one equipment kits start at $50-80, and beer ingredient kits from $20-50.

For me, I didn't have a large stock pot (minimum probably 16qt). So I ended up spending $70 (for a pretty nice one) which added to my startup expense. Also, if you save your bottles if you drink beer regularly (not twist off) then you may not have to buy bottles.

And since someone else recommended a book, I'll say that Homebrewing For Dummies by Marty Nachel is an excellent resource: Amazon.com: Homebrewing For Dummies (9780470230626): Marty Nachel: Books


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## ekengland07 (May 20, 2009)

kapathy said:


> Brewing Starter Kit - Brewing Equipment
> 
> im looking to tart as well, but i dont want to bottle, so im looking at soda kegs. I have buddies who brew and they all use turkey fryers so that they can brew outside and not have the whole house smell like brew.... I like the smell my wife....well she does not.


That was my first kit and I still have many of the pieces. I've switched to all-grain, but a great way to start. If you need info, there is an online book that is as good as any available. John Palmer is the man.


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## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

The Three Laws of Successful Brewing:

1) Sanitation
2) Sanitation
3) Sanitation

It's been a long time since I brewed, but back in the day, I had the chit DOWN!

If I had to name the one most indispensable and important item to making great beer, it would unquestionably be a wort chiller. The most vulnerable time for your wort is during the initial cooling. Getting it down to fermentation temp and out of the "danger zone" where aerobic organisms can get it is absolutely critical. With my chiller, I was able to get it from simmer to fermentation temp, in well under 20min.

It was about a 30ft length of wound cooper tubing that attached to the sink spigot. Turn on the cold water and stir with the chiller.

If you want to start out cheap, start with a few mixes. They won't taste nearly as good as a full grain mash, but they take half the time and far less hardware.

DO NOT use dried, powdered yeast. Those packets contain only a measly amount of cultures and they have to be coaxed and coerced into hunger. This can take days and in that time, your beer can get infected. If you have a local brew pub, take a sterile ball jar inside a new zipper bag down there with you. Ask to see the brewery and talk to one of the brewers. If you're cool and seem like you know your stuff, he will give you some "slurry" from one of the fermentation tanks. This stuff is MAGIC! It contains literally billions of cultures and will fire your beer up an a matter of hours. Those cultures are already pissed off and voracious, not to mention, from a perfectly sanitary environment. If you can't get slurry, take the time to culture your yeast.

Treat brewing as a chemistry experiment. Write everything down in LONG HAND including all ingredients, times, temps, etc. This makes for an essential reference when you begin to tweak recipes and also allows you to identify where you screwed up, if you did.

Never use chlorine to disinfect. Get yourself some iodine, either from the brew store, or the pharmacist. It will stain your tuns, but rinses off cleanly and immediately. It disinfects on contact, so no need to soak. Chlorine in a a nasty, toxic chemical that takes 20-30min to disinfect and 30-45min to rinse.

If you decide to bottle, the bigger the bottle, the better. I used 20oz New Castle bottles and champagne bottles. The best place to disinfect them is in the dishwasher. Heat is a far better disinfectant than even iodine and it saves a lot of scrubbing. I would toss about a teaspoon of iodine in the wash cycle (no detergent!), just to hedge my bets.

Finally, if you want the clearest beer and the hardest sediment, use irish moss. It's dehydrated sea kelp and assists in precipitation. For a final step, put the room temp beer in the freezer for about a half hour. It won't get it too cold to drink, but does a great job of clearing any left over sediment.

Brewing can be a lot of fun and tremendously rewarding. Get a "brew crew" together with whom to learn and share tasks. Try to avoid drinking your wares during the process, since this leads to infections and mistakes.

Good luck!


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## dj1340 (Mar 30, 2009)

Herf N Turf said:


> The Three Laws of Successful Brewing:
> 
> 1) Sanitation
> 2) Sanitation
> ...


Used to brew myself back in the day and this is some sound advice. the best thing I used to cool the wort was a counter flow chiller. Copper tubing inside a garden hose. let the wort flow through the copper pipe and water flow in the opposite direction. No fuss and worked like a charm every time.

Good luck


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## Wallbright (Jan 2, 2011)

Do you guys think it would be more cost effective to assemble my own kit? I think 5 gallon buckets are only $2-$5 at Lowes or Home Depot and I know they have funnels. I just don't know about the rest of the stuff. Idk maybe I am just a cheap ass college kid but some of these kits that they charge $80 for look like I could get them for about $50 or less.


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## ekengland07 (May 20, 2009)

Wallbright said:


> Do you guys think it would be more cost effective to assemble my own kit? I think 5 gallon buckets are only $2-$5 at Lowes or Home Depot and I know they have funnels. I just don't know about the rest of the stuff. Idk maybe I am just a cheap ass college kid but some of these kits that they charge $80 for look like I could get them for about $50 or less.


Those buckets may not be food grade plastic. That being said, they may not seal as well and you'll have to drill the hole out for the airlock. However, you can assemble a kit cheaper and it may save you a few bucks, but take WAY more time and not necessarily be as good.

Actually, let me pull up a groupon for you. Completely forgot about it. The kit costs $64 + $12 S/H and includes a good starter kit, a beer kit, and a $25 gift certificate for a future purchase. FANTASTIC DEAL. They run it fairly regularly.


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## Wallbright (Jan 2, 2011)

ekengland07 said:


> Those buckets may not be food grade plastic. That being said, they may not seal as well and you'll have to drill the hole out for the airlock. However, you can assemble a kit cheaper and it may save you a few bucks, but take WAY more time and not necessarily be as good.
> 
> Actually, let me pull up a groupon for you. Completely forgot about it. The kit costs $64 + $12 S/H and includes a good starter kit, a beer kit, and a $25 gift certificate for a future purchase. FANTASTIC DEAL. They run it fairly regularly.


Ah, I never thought of that about the food grade. I guess it would be worth it to buy a kit and that groupon looks like a great deal. Now to just wait for it to come back around haha.


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## ekengland07 (May 20, 2009)

Wallbright said:


> Ah, I never thought of that about the food grade. I guess it would be worth it to buy a kit and that groupon looks like a great deal. Now to just wait for it to come back around haha.


It's still on now, but they offer it around the country pretty often.


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## Wallbright (Jan 2, 2011)

ekengland07 said:


> It's still on now, but they offer it around the country pretty often.


That is weird it just told me it was unavailable and now it is saying it is available but when I click it it says the deal is closed.


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## ekengland07 (May 20, 2009)

Wallbright said:


> That is weird it just told me it was unavailable and now it is saying it is available but when I click it it says the deal is closed.


That's weird. If you want to start even smaller, there is a company that sells one gallon batches and they have a special for $25 right now. Includes the kit and the equipment. You only get around 10 beers/gallon, but it's a nice way to get your feet wet.


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## Wallbright (Jan 2, 2011)

ekengland07 said:


> That's weird. If you want to start even smaller, there is a company that sells one gallon batches and they have a special for $25 right now. Includes the kit and the equipment. You only get around 10 beers/gallon, but it's a nice way to get your feet wet.


Do you have a link to where I can see that? Also, if I get a one gallon setup are the only things I need to buy to be setup for a regular is two of the 6 gallon food grade buckets (one with the spicket thing and all that) from one of the beer places?


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## ekengland07 (May 20, 2009)

Wallbright said:


> Do you have a link to where I can see that? Also, if I get a one gallon setup are the only things I need to buy to be setup for a regular is two of the 6 gallon food grade buckets (one with the spicket thing and all that) from one of the beer places?


Here you go.


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## Wallbright (Jan 2, 2011)

Ordered! Someone hit Eric with some rep as I can't give him any again. Thanks brother! Looks like all I need to pickup are a strainer and a funnel. I think my pot here at the house will work for such a small batch. I am stoked.


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## sweater88 (Jul 31, 2011)

Beware Tyler...brewing is just like cigars...its addictive...soon you will be using terms like "all grain" "hot liquor tank" "RIMS" "Corny kegs" "conical fermentation vessel" "lagering"....ignore these terms for the first year...just brew some good extract (not liquid) kits and drink up and enjoy...if you love to brew, you will move toward these other, evil and expensive methods and ideas


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## ekengland07 (May 20, 2009)

sweater88 said:


> Beware Tyler...brewing is just like cigars...its addictive...soon you will be using terms like "all grain" "hot liquor tank" "RIMS" "Corny kegs" "conical fermentation vessel" "lagering"....ignore these terms for the first year...just brew some good extract (not liquid) kits and drink up and enjoy...if you love to brew, you will move toward these other, evil and expensive methods and ideas


The kit he ordered is actually all-grain, but can be switched to extract after the first batch (which I recommend as well).


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## Beer Alchemist (Aug 17, 2011)

Crap, I only just saw this. I'd have highly recommended against the 1 gallon kit and start with a 5 gallon as 1 gallon of beer will yield far less than 1 gallon and what you do get will go quickly making you wish you had a 5 gallon batch.

You can use buckets from the hardware store if they are made of PPE or some other food grade plastic...however, some of these smell like plastic (Homer bucket) and will impart that odor to your beer. As well they are 5 gallon and you ideally want a 6-6.5 gallon bucket.

But lets toss that aside. In the beginning you will need a bunch of odd ball stuff like a bottle capper, bottle caps, hose line, etc so the starter kits are where to begin. I'd highly recommend getting the most basic beginner kit you can as you don't need something like a glass carboy to begin...say this with me about secondaries, no-no-never-never-watch my head shake. Ok, sometimes they are worthwhile but the vast majority of beers you will brew it is a waste of time and opportunity for infection.

So, if that one gallon kit turns you onto the process go get a basic 5 gallon starter kit from somewhere like Midwest Supplies

Brewing Basics Equipment Kit Midwest Supplies

Then go buy a cheap pot, stainless or aluminum works great. You can get away with a 16qt (very common at places like Target) and it will easily transport to the sink for an ice bath, but if you get an immersion chiller (extremely uber highly recommended if you are going to get into this hobby) get a 32 qt as you can do full wort boils with this (which has advantages).

Finally, I respectfully disagree with Herf N Turf (probably because he's been out of the game for a while). Use Starsan to disinfect, it is superior to all other available disinfectants (any homebrew shop carries this) and is fast, requiring no rinse. If you don't want to use this then use the iodine; just don't use chlorine like Herf N Turf said as it can create polyphenols in the beer and ruin stainless equipment over time. Dry yeast is fine, it used to suck, but now it is high quality...however, I do use liquid yeast just the same. As well, Irish moss is on the outs and now its all about Whirlfloc for clearing beer.

Anyway, I'm just running that down as fast as I can and getting to the point so sorry if it came across as "do as I say or you're wrong," as there are tons of ways to brew well. Just trying to give you a rapid shot of 10 years of experience.


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## piperdown (Jul 19, 2009)

I've been home brewing for ~20 years and got my start from my barber who had been brewing at home before Carter signed the law....lol.

Good posts here but pay attention to what Don and Ben said.
I disagree with Ben only slightly as I still use some bleach, since it's a universal disinfectant, but rinse like crazy, and usually on my carboys. I will say that I use Starsan for most of my brewing equipment and it's been a blessing to the entire brewing community.

And, while Don mentioned sanitation three times, repeat it for another 97 and you'll get to understanding that it's THAT important.

I would also suggest you look around for a local brewing shop and find out if there's a home brew club. Most of the clubs are packed with experienced brewers who go out of their way to help someone learn. Beer brewing is like being a BOLT, we have a passion for both.

Stick with something simple for the first couple of times to get the hang of what needs to be done and in what order. 

And, there's nothing wrong with keeping it simple. As I said, I've been brewing for a while but still haven't made the transition to full grain and I'm perfectly alright with that. 

I will forewarn you though that once you brew "that batch" and you'll understand when it happens you'll continue to chase after it the rest of your brewing days.


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## Desertlifter (Feb 22, 2011)

Lots of good advice in here - a couple of points which I would like to reiterate for their own sake.

1. Sterilize, sterilize, sterilize. That said, they've been making successful batches of beer since people thought that disease was caused by evil spirits. In the words of Charlie Papazian: "Relax - have a homebrew." But sterilize.

2. Speaking of Charlie Papazian, I can't recommend his New Complete Joy of Homebrewing enough. As far as I'm concerned it's still just about the best book for a new brewer. For an experienced one too, for that matter.

3. Go with the 5-gallon setup rather than a lesser one. There are things going on in a brew that tend to do better with a bit higher volumes, and 1 gallon (IMO) falls below the threshold of quality.

4. Find a good hobby shop or online store. My vendor - StoreFront -- Homebrew Heaven Online Store - has never steered me wrong.


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## ekengland07 (May 20, 2009)

Desertlifter said:


> 3. Go with the 5-gallon setup rather than a lesser one. There are things going on in a brew that tend to do better with a bit higher volumes, and 1 gallon (IMO) falls below the threshold of quality.


Can you elaborate for me, please? I'm a bit confused by this. :dunno:


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## Desertlifter (Feb 22, 2011)

ekengland07 said:


> Can you elaborate for me, please? I'm a bit confused by this. :dunno:


I'll try - please keep in mind that I'm just a middling-level hobbyist and sometime wine-researcher - homebrewers who make a lot of beer are WAY above my level. I brew all-grain, but I don't grind my own. Yet. Feel free to tell me that I don't know what the hell I'm talking about - I won't take offence. Anyway....

All things being equal, greater volume in production allows for variances higher than lower volume brews as a function of significance (or skew, if you will) since errors/variance in brewing are more typically grounded in the measure rather than increasing concurrently with volume. This doesn't matter much with extract since they by nature take out some of the potential for mistakes (I like to call them "creative moments"), but when you move to all-grain it can. This could come into play in areas from hot break to infusion and anaerobic fermentation in particular. Considering the outlay for 5 gallon pail and carboy setups as compared to a 1 gallon one, I would lean to the former for quality control.

The only place I would foresee smaller batches being better would be when you cool the wort after the boil - smaller batches would be easier to cool, particularly if you are trying to keep kit costs down - I would assume that would lead to (at least in the beginning) using the old bathtub and ice method rather than buying a chiller.

Plus, isn't the BOTL who started this discussion in college? When was less beer ever a good idea in college?

:biggrin1:


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## Wallbright (Jan 2, 2011)

Thanks for the solid advice everyone. The reason I went with a 1 gallon versus a larger size is because I wanted to start small. I also have no where to put 5-6 gallons of beer right now but 1 gallon or less is doable. I know it only makes about 10 beers or so, if I did the math right, but that is a months worth for me. Also, I believe if I am not mistaken I can use the jug with this one to make wine after I do a batch of beer if I decide beer isn't for me. I also did not want to spend $60+ on a kit that I may never use again. This one was also cheaper and looks to be more suitable than Mr. Beer, although I don't know about the alternative ways of making Mr. Beer. I hope that this will be a good small start to brewing and if I decide that I like it then Christmas is right around the corner. So hopefully this will go well haha.


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## keen smoke (Sep 8, 2010)

Good luck and have fun!


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## ekengland07 (May 20, 2009)

Desertlifter said:


> I'll try - please keep in mind that I'm just a middling-level hobbyist and sometime wine-researcher - homebrewers who make a lot of beer are WAY above my level. I brew all-grain, but I don't grind my own. Yet. Feel free to tell me that I don't know what the hell I'm talking about - I won't take offence. Anyway....
> 
> All things being equal, greater volume in production allows for variances higher than lower volume brews as a function of significance (or skew, if you will) since errors/variance in brewing are more typically grounded in the measure rather than increasing concurrently with volume. This doesn't matter much with extract since they by nature take out some of the potential for mistakes (I like to call them "creative moments"), but when you move to all-grain it can. This could come into play in areas from hot break to infusion and anaerobic fermentation in particular. Considering the outlay for 5 gallon pail and carboy setups as compared to a 1 gallon one, I would lean to the former for quality control.
> 
> ...


Thank you for the response. I was curious about your thoughts because I now brew exclusively in 1 and 2 gallon batches. It's not that I can't brew 5 or 10 gallon batches (which I have), I just get tired of the same beer after about 2 gallons of it. I'd rather have variety vs. quantity. Just my preference and similar to what's in my humidor. I don't buy boxes because there are too many choices out there.

That being said, I was curious about your ideas and think they are legit. Larger batches may very well allow for more variance and it is definitely easier to hide problems in a larger volume. I know I've had to make some changes to the way I've brewed with the smaller batches. Namely, I've had to switch to metric for all my hop additions, grain amounts, etc. and had to miniaturize my equipment. I can't us the same fermentor or lauter tun with my setup that a 5 gallon person would use. I'm achieving as good a results in both efficiency, quality, and AHA scoring of my beers after a few tweaks. What I do lose is time. My all-grain batches take just about as long as a 5 gallon batch. Yeast costs are also higher because they don't let you buy small amounts and it forced me to start culturing my own. The yeast library is slowly growing.

Overall, I'm happier now with the format I have, but that's just me. I believe I brew good beer and enjoy the hobby now. Felt too much like work before with larger batches. I do get ridiculed in my homebrew club, though. Few understand it, but I love it.

Regardless, no matter what size batch you make, it's still beer and beer is good. :biggrin1:


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## Beer Alchemist (Aug 17, 2011)

One should be able to make a quality 1 gallon batch. The problem is that you are spending the same amount of time as you would on a 5 gallon batch less waiting to boil. Everyone is beating the drum of sanitization and while important, if you use some starsan you'll be fine, it is actually fairly hard to infect beer. So RDWHAHB "relax don't worry have a homebrew.". Oh yeah and like Eric said, keep your first few batches simple. Don't try making a double imperial barleywine until you understand how to wrangle yeast and have solid temperature control.


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